Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Back to School Traditions

This is only our second year of having a school boy, but we are discovering that back-to-school season is a busy season! There's back to school shopping (which we have mostly escaped with a preschooler), parent's nights, open houses, the start of soccer season (that is an entirely different blogpost!) and just settling into our new routine as a family. Parenthood keeps you busy!

In the midst of all the hoopla, we've decided that we want to make room for a few simple Back to School traditions of our own.

Flags on your food = instant party!

First, we have our First Day of School feast. Last year we had a special dinner the night before school started with some of Espen's favorite foods. I think we had German Pancakes and pink milk. This year we were pressed for time because soccer practice fell on the night before school, so I got up a little early and cooked a back to school breakfast. Espen loves breakfast foods above all others, so all I did was fry up some bacon and eggs and everyone was happy. And I baked some blueberry muffins, let's be honest, mostly so I could put them on a tiered plate and stick flags in them.

I found the flags here last year, along with a cute banner, which I did myself the lovely favor of saving for a year, so I didn't have to hunt down and assemble a new one for this year. We hang our banners in the hardest place to photograph imaginable, so I please accept this truly awful photo, and trust me when I tell you that it does look cute, and that Espen's little face lit up like a Christmas tree when he realized this little celebration was for him.

Awful photo, but cute banner, right?

The whole idea behind the First Day of School feast is to show Espen that school is something to be happy and excited about, and for him to feel that he has the love and support of his family as he goes off into the world. While we eat we just talk about school and what to expect, what he might be nervous about, what he's feeling excited about, etc. There are no presents, no family goal setting, no motto for the school year (not that those aren't lovely things - for someone else's family.) It's really just a nice moment to stop and reflect together as a family before the world goes hurtling on again.

Our other Back to School Tradition is the one we share with people, and that is the First Day of School Photo. As we head out the door on our way to school, we plop Espen down outside the front door with a little poster telling what year it is, who his teacher is, and what year of school he is in. You can find the one we used here. It will be fun to compare all of these a few years down the road, and I feel like I can already see such a difference between the two photos we already have. You can see his photos from last year here.

He's in preschool!

So, that's what we do. Nothing too big or crazy, but just enough to make each year of school feel a little extra special and exciting. Do you have any Back to School traditions in your family?